E.O. Wilson: Of Ants and Men

A champion of conservation and biodiversity, and winner of two Pulitzer prizes, octogenarian naturalist Edward Osborne Wilson has changed how we look at the world. In this PBS-aired documentary from filmmaker Shelley Schulze, Wilson calls himself a "happy man in a terrible century"—a time of environmental degradation that finds humanity seemingly rushing headlong into self-destruction. Raised in rural Alabama, Wilson was always captivated by nature, but an early injury (limiting his vision to one eye) made him concentrate on examining the world's "little things": insects, particularly ants. Wilson was struck by the similarity of ants and humans, who not only share a motivation to build complex societies while working toward common goals, but also both engage in tribalism. Wilson describes tribalism as a "sort of communion," transcending individual selves to create superorganisms, in which ants sacrifice themselves for the common good (illustrated by battles to the death between leaf cutter and termite ants, where "soldiers" die defending the nests). For humans, tribalism has both positive and negative effects. Wilson describes our love of competitive sports, particularly football, in which archrivals battle with the encouragement of "nubile" female cheerleaders. Humans crave acceptance and security, but the flipside is brutal exclusion, best illustrated by the policies of Nazi Germany. In the twilight of his life, Wilson meditates on our place in the natural world, the need to reclaim the "better angels" of our nature, and the importance of saving other species in order to save ourselves. Offering a fine overview of Wilson's life, work, and the academic controversies concerning his research on sociobiology, this inspiring and informative profile is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)